Here is my submission for the Pearl Harbor GB: Ken Taylor’s P-36 as it might have looked before he valiantly hipped in and shot down aseveral D3A Vals. Historically he has been credited with 2 kills at Pearl, but recent Japanese records show that he actually may have shot down 4. Either way, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Mr. Taylor passed away in 2006.
It’s the 1./48 Academy kit…a nice kit,if a little sparse. My first resin was used here, the Legend set: It was easy to use and seemed like high quality resin. Unfortunately the IP dislodged after I installed it into the sewn up fuselage, to be buried forever. I didn’t feel like opening up the fuse after I had the seems smoothed.
It went smooth again from there…until the flat coat. I tried to remedy a bad batch of Polyscale Flat Clear (I had a major disaster previouslywith this bottle) by heavily diluting with windex. It worked nicely on a test piece, but for some reason came out chalky again. The bottle has since been tossed in file 13 and a few new bottles ordered for future builds.
With work and the new addition to the family in July, bench time was scarce. It feels good to have a completed model done in the last few months!
Here is Mr. Taylor’s bird:
I just realized I need to paint the lenses… It’s amazing what picture can pick out!
Nice model, Charles. I wish Curtiss had just stayed with the radial engine on the 75 and later Hawks. Compare the growth of the F4F as it became the FM-2, and the horsepower gains that the R-1820 and R-1830’s were eventually capable of, and I think it would have been a better airplane than the Allison powered airplanes. I saw a video the other day of a P-36 flying in France, I don’t know if it is a restoration or a new build, but once again a radial powered Hawk is airworthy. It was on Youtube.
OK, here’s a link to the video. Love the sound! If you can’t get the link to work just search for Hawk 75 on YouTube.
Beautiful work there, Mucker! Like John said, nice to see unusual subjects posted. My hat’s off to you sir! BTW, what color did you use for the OD? I like it. [tup]
I never thought about that, John, but it makes sense. The Hellcat’s and Corsairs were able to put out some pretty high HP later on in the war. Maybe this can be a build idea for Eddie Miller?[:-^]
Thanks for the comments Arki and Frank.
Frank, as for the color, it’s Polyscale USAF Olive Drab, which supposedly matched up with the FS34087 callout on the decal sheet (Aeromaster). It was a beautiful color and looked nice pre-shaded…until I ruined it with the Chalky White look from the Flat Clear. One of the members posted that there was a batch or two that most likely froze during shipment in the winter months, which chemically destabilized the Flat Clear, giving it a chalky white appearance. Hopefully my next bottle will be from a newer batch!
Nicely done Mucker [tup]. I also had a bad bottle pf Polyscale flat, but fortunately caught the problem before spraying a model. Not sure what caused the problem, but the freezing theory makes sense.
Dave: I can’t wait to see your P-36…part II. After your salvage, it will be your “Comeback Model of the Year”, and hopefully fell twice as nice to look at on your shelf.
